Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea: Jose Mourinho hopeful John Terry can make late recovery

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has not ruled out John Terry recovering from injury in time for his side's Premier League showdown with Tottenham Hotspur. Terry, 34, was stretchered off during Chelsea's 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in a Champions League tie on Tuesday 24 November after hurting his ankle, with his manager later blaming the "dangerous pitch" for the accident.

Mourinho admitted after the victory that the chances of his captain recovering in time for Sunday's match at White Hart Lane were slim, but was slightly more optimistic in his outlook when addressing the press on Friday 27 November.

"Today John Terry didn't train but we have a little hope that it is possible he plays," Mourinho said via the club's Twitter account.

Kurt Zouma replaced the veteran defender on Tuesday and scored a trademark Terry header in the dying minutes of the match. The 20-year-old is likely to partner Gary Cahill at the heart of defence in the captain's absence.

Midfielder Ramires also returned from Israel carrying a knock after suffering a muscular injury before kick-off. Like Terry, the Brazil international did not train on Friday morning but his manager is hopeful of a late recovery.

The Chelsea boss also spoke of the club's forgotten summer signing Papy Djilobodji, who has played just one minute of football for the club since his arrival on transfer deadline day. Mourinho however explained the Senegal defender was "not ready" when asked over the possibility of him featuring, as reported by ESPN's Miguel Delaney.

Radamel Falcao, who has not played since the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 21 October after suffering a muscular problem, is also ruled out, with his manager claiming at the start of the week he expected the striker to be out for for a "couple of weeks".

Mourinho also confirmed Thibaut Courtois was not yet ready to make his return after undergoing knee surgery in September but hopes to have the Belgium international back within the first two weeks of December.